Bruno Mars - Liquor Store Blues - Chord

Key A major – F# minor Chords Abm, Dbm, A, B7, Bm Easy key C

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Capo 0

Dbm
Standing at this liquor store,
Abm A Abm
Whisky coming through my pores, Feeling like I run this whole block.
Dbm Abm
Lotto tickets, cheap beer, that's why you can catch me here,
A Abm
Trying to scratch my way up to the top

Dbm Abm A Abm
Because my job got me going nowhere, so I ain't got a thing to lose.
Dbm Abm A Abm
Take me to a place where I don't care, this is me and my liquor store blues.

Dbm Abm
I'll take one shot for my pain,
A B7
One drag for my sorrow.
Dbm Abm
Get messed up today,
A B7
I'll be ok tomorrow.
Dbm Abm
One shot for my pain,
A B7
One drag for my sorrow.
Dbm Abm
Get messed up today,
A B7
I'll be ok tomorrow.

Dbm Abm
Me and my guitar tonight, singing to the city lights
A Abm
Trying to live with more than what I got

Dbm Abm
Cause '68 Cents just, ain't gonna pay the rent so
A Abm
I'll be out here til they call the cops

Dbm Abm A Abm
Because my job got me going nowhere, so I ain't got a thing to lose.
Dbm Abm A Abm
Take me to a place where I don't care, this is me and my liquor store blues.

Dbm Abm
Here comes Junior Gong, I'm flying high like superman
A Abm Dbm
And thinkin that I run the whole block, I don't know if it's just because
Abm A Abm
Pineapple kush between my jaws, Has got me feeling like I'm on top, Feeling like

Dbm Abm A Bm
I wouldn't stand up to the cops, And stand up to the big guys, because, all of them are saps

Dbm Abm
All the talk them a talk and them fly make no drop

A Bm
Enough ghetto youth cannot escape the trap

End of song Play again?

Bruno Mars - Liquor Store Blues Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Bruno Mars – Liquor Store Blues: key and chord analysis

The song opens on Dbm and ends on B7. Its chords belong to both A major and F#m, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

A major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = G# (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = D (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

F# minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = D (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = E (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the A major side because A is heard 24 times while F#m never appears. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from F# minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to A or to F#m; comparing both readings is a practice of its own.

Every chord of the key, listed 1 to 7 separately for each key. Chords played in the song show how often they appear; chords from outside the scale sit next to their own degree.

Seen from A major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	A	Tonic — home	A · C# · E	24×
ii	Bm	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	B · D · F#	2×
II7	B7	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	B · D# · F# · A	12×
iii	Dbm	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	Db · Fb · Ab	24×
III	C#	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	C# · E# · G#	—
IV	D	Subdominant — moves away from home	D · F# · A	—
V	E	Dominant — strongest pull home	E · G# · B	—
vi	F#m	Relative minor — the melancholy side	F# · A · C#	—
vii°	G#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	G# · B · D	—
vii	Abm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Ab · Cb · Eb	34×

Seen from F# minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	F#m	Tonic — home	F# · A · C#	—
ii°	G#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	G# · B · D	—
ii	Abm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Ab · Cb · Eb	34×
III	A	Relative major — the bright side	A · C# · E	24×
iv	Bm	Subdominant — moves away from home	B · D · F#	2×
IV7	B7	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	B · D# · F# · A	12×
v	Dbm	Minor dominant — soft pull	Db · Fb · Ab	24×
V	C#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	C# · E# · G#	—
VI	D	Submediant — warm colour	D · F# · A	—
VII	E	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	E · G# · B	—

Analysis

The key pair is A major and its relative F# minor (3 sharps). 5 different chords appear 96 times in total; 3 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. Abm, B7 step outside the scale as colour chords.

Chord movement

There's no textbook cadence here; the chords circle around each other in a loop, so the song feels more like a groove than a series of arrivals.

Improvisation tips

A major pentatonic and F# minor pentatonic are the same five notes (A – B – C# – E – F#): start from A for a brighter phrase, from F# for a bluesier one.
Over Abm, land on Ab, Cb, Eb — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Dbm, land on Db, Fb, Ab — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over A, land on A, C#, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.

The song on the circle of fifths

Played in the song — chord of the key
Played — the minor's harmonic V or a secondary dominant
Played — borrowed or outside chord
Home region: IV–I–V and ii–vi–iii

Empty slices are chords the song doesn't use.

Capo and easier keys

With A major shapes

No capo — open A shapes
Capo 2 + G shapes
Capo 5 + E shapes

With F# minor shapes

Capo 2 + Em shapes
Capo 4 + Dm shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

3 semitones up
4 semitones down · capo 4 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

Starting on Dbm, the song gives away its key from the very first bar. Abm, Dbm, A, B7 carry the song: vii–iii–I–II7 relative to A, ii–v–III–IV7 relative to F#m. No chord leaves the shared scale, so a single pentatonic shape works over the whole song. It closes on B7, letting the A side have the last word.

This analysis is generated from the song's chords by akorculuk's harmony engine using consistent rules. When you change key, the degrees stay the same; only the chord names change.

Bruno Mars - Liquor Store Blues Chords on Guitar, Ukulele and Piano

Hover over or tap a chord in the lyrics for its shapes, its degree in both keys and a listen button. Here you have every chord of the song side by side.

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